The little boy who was caught on security footage wandering away from his Maryland home after being reported missing had a nightmare.
Miles McMahon, 5, who was autistic and nonverbal, went missing from his home in Waldorf, Maryland, on Sunday morning when his family reported his absence.
But a desperate search by police led to the discovery of the boy’s body floating in a pond just a short distance from the safety of his own home.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Miles McMahon, 5, was reported missing on Sunday, sparking an extensive search in which his body was subsequently discovered floating in a pond just a short distance from his Maryland home.
After dive teams conducted a second search of a nearby pond, they discovered the young boy’s body floating and pronounced him dead at the scene.
Family members called 911 after they couldn’t find Miles during their search of the area around their home in the Bannister neighborhood.
Security footage from the home showed the child leaving the house wearing a red T-shirt and skipping around his front yard without pants or shoes, according to a Charles County Sheriff’s Office news release Sunday.
Officers arrived at the home in the 1000 block of St. Paul’s Drive around 11 a.m., where they “established a perimeter and immediately turned their attention to ponds and bodies of water nearby.”
The search was extensive: search teams, drones, police, dive teams and dogs were deployed to the area where he was last seen. The independent reported.
Police K9 and bloodhounds also responded to the scene, along with the sheriff’s office Search Management Team, which uses specialized apps for tracking purposes.
The news release asked locals to leave the search area, which was conducted primarily in the area of St. Paul’s Drive and Piney Church Road. Residents were asked to stay on sidewalks where possible and avoid other areas.
Miles, who was autistic and non-verbal, was reported missing to authorities on Sunday morning after family members were unable to find him during their own initial search
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office conducted an extensive search, primarily of ponds and bodies of water in the area, involving dive teams and K9 units.
The sheriff’s office also urged neighbors to search their own yards, swimming pools, sheds, bushes, trees and other small hiding places where the child might have ended up.
Those with security cameras were urged to contact the department if the recorded footage contained anything of value that could aid the desperate search.
During the search, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office notified concerned residents on their Facebook, saying, “Miles may be hiding or afraid of the commotion. For people who live nearby, turn on the porch lights and backyard lights.”
“For those searching beyond the perimeter, exercise caution and call 911 with relative information. We have a great community and it’s clear that everyone cares so much.”
Despite unsuccessfully searching a pond near his home, the Maryland State Police dive team and Department of Natural Resources police returned that same evening to check the pond again.
During the secondary search, Miles was found just after midnight.
“After hours of searching for Miles McMahon, age five, he was unfortunately recently found in a pond not far from his home and has passed away,” an update from the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook Monday said.
They shared an additional update on Monday evening, stating: “Many of you are now aware of the tragic loss of Miles McMahon. The outpouring of care, concern, prayers and love for Miles’ family, as well as for all the many, many first responders who worked tirelessly to find Miles, meant so much.”
“The show of community and the many ways people came together to provide assistance shows the compassion of Charles County. These incidents are very difficult for first responders, but the kindness and care you showed to our teams was truly a source of strength.”
“Now our whole hearts are with the McMahon family as they endure this unimaginable loss and overwhelming grief.”
Miles was last seen on home security footage wearing only a red T-shirt as he skipped into the front yard and walked away from his home
Miles is the second autistic child to die by drowning since this summer – and is the leading cause of death for children living with the disability
Ashley Ulrich, a mother whose daughter attends elementary school with Miles, shared NBC: ‘I spent last night tossing and turning and praying for a better outcome. But when I saw the news around one o’clock this morning, the least I could do was come and pay my respects.”
Neighbors left flowers, balloons and teddy bears at the pond where he was found as a show of support for the family.
Miles is the second child to drown in the area since the summer.
In late July, another child, who was also autistic and nonverbal, was reported missing after attending a community picnic at Bohrer Park, in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The body of 6-year-old Fawzan Hassan was discovered in the pond by a group of volunteers, who then alerted the police. WTOP News reported.
The pond that was less than 50 yards from the playground where he was last seen.
A six-year study showed that this was about half [49 percent] of children with autism tried to wander away from a safe environment, which is four times higher than their unaffected siblings, according to National Autism Association.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children who successfully wander off.
A six-year study found that accidental drowning was responsible for 71 percent of deaths among autistic children.
Children with autism are 160 times more likely to die from drowning than the general pediatric population.